Update on Hannity & Colmes’ Vick Coverage

Monday night, I posted about the all-white panel dismissing and denigrating racial issues surrounding coverage of the Michael Vick scandal. Last night, Hannity & Colmes revisited the issue the right way: With African Americans who were allowed to present their case and were treated with respect.

Naturally, the producers felt the need to balance talk show host James Mtume with a conservative, former football player Lynn Swann, even though both hosts sided against Mtume and there had been three guests with an opposing opinion the night before. And whereas the three white guys got two segments at the top of the show, the two black guys got one segment in the second half. Nevertheless, Mtume held his own in a good debate and it was pretty much all one could hope for from a Hannity & Colmes show.

Favorite line: Mtume, referring to Colmes’ surprisingly hostile treatment the night before toward the African American perspective, said, “I know (Hannity’s) the Lone Ranger, but when did you become Tonto?” But, to Colmes’ credit, he offered Mtume the opportunity to air his views and debated vigorously without being combative.